In cars equipped with cruise control systems, the driver need not keep his foot on the gas pedal in order to maintain the existing speed. Under a range of highway and traffic conditions the existing devices decrease traffic hazards. One of the many advantages of these devices is that they can significantly reduce the occurrence of the driver inadvertently exceeding the speed limit The purpose and result of my invention is to greatly increase the range of highway and traffic conditions for which cruise control systems are useful.
In the cruise control systems currently employed in highway vehicles, however, the driver's right foot must be off the brake pedal (or pressure on the pedal will deactivate the system), which increases the braking time and thus creates a potential safety hazard. This hazard will increase if the right foot becomes entangled with the floor rug, the left foot or random debris. These defects greatly limit the road and traffic conditions for which existing systems are advantageous to such an extent that many drivers whole cars are equipped with the control seldom or never use it.
In current cruise control systems operating switches are often mounted on the steering wheel which requires one of the driver's hands to divert from steering in order to operate the switches and, if the wheel is turned, the switch position will vary and the driver's eyes may be diverted. Both diversions increase the driving hazards. In particular the eye diversion degrades the driver's monitoring of road conditions, traffic conditions, traffic lights and speed limit signs. In addition, many current systems sometimes result in accidental horn blowing and are virtually impossible to operate while wearing gloves.
Because of these limitations, current devices automatically disengage cruise control when, after braking, the vehicle speed is significantly below the set control speed. This is a necessary safety precaution for any automatic cruise control device. For example, it would be dangerous if, after a full stop, the driver were to actuate the "resume" function because the car would automatically accelerate from zero to the set speed.
The above defects of current systems place a large burden on the driver and lead to driver fatigue which further increases the driving hazards.